-
Subscribe to our weekly and daily Pearls and Irritations newsletter!
-
Most viewed recently
- FRANK BRENNAN SJ. Woe to the shepherds (Homily, 22.07.18 at St Michaels’ Church, Kaleen)
- MUNGO MacCALLUM. A prime minister progressively shriller and less coherent.
- IAN DUNLOP. A Parliament Without Trust or Legitimacy Must Go
- EMMA ALBERICI. There’s no case for a corporate tax cut when one in five of Australia’s top companies don’t pay it.
- HENRY REYNOLDS. A HUNDRED YEARS OF MATESHIP.
-
Recent posts
- MARC HUDSON. The Nationals have changed their leader but kept the same climate story (The Conversation 28 February 2018) 14 August 2018
- WAYNE McMILLAN. Are Millennials Thinking Seriously about Socialism? 14 August 2018
- MUNGO MACCALLUM. Turnbull running out of energy. 14 August 2018
- KERRY GOULSTON. Why not commemorate the Frontier Wars in the Australian War Memorial? 14 August 2018
- ABUL RIZVI. What is Dutton Hiding Now? 14 August 2018
Categories
- Arts and Reviews (39)
- Defence/Security (812)
- Drug Reform (19)
- Economy (1,075)
- Education (204)
- Environment and climate (338)
- Health (514)
- Housing (72)
- Human Rights (416)
- Indigenous affairs (65)
- Industrial relations (33)
- Infrastructure (160)
- International Affairs (1,564)
- Asia (203)
- Links (10)
- Media (515)
- NBN (74)
- Politics (2,449)
- Refugees, Immigration (538)
- Religion and Faith (505)
- SERIES: Freedom, opportunity and security (60)
- SERIES: Making housing affordable (15)
- Sport (52)
- Technology, start-ups and new media (1)
- Tributes (36)
- Uncategorized (195)
Archives
Category Archives: Economy
IAN McAULEY. Don’t rush to endorse the National Energy Guarantee: There’s an election in a few months.
The best outcome for electricity consumers would be for state governments to kill the National Energy Guarantee when the COAG energy council meets on Friday. Having gone nine years without a well-grounded energy policy we can wait a few months … Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Environment and climate
2 Comments
ALAN KOHLER. Another fine energy shambles (The Australian, 07/08/18)
Years of cat-herding by those who actually know and care about Australia’s electricity market will come to fruition this week with the meeting of COAG energy ministers to discuss the National Energy Guarantee, and possibly make a decision about it. … Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Environment and climate, Politics
2 Comments
MICHAEL KEATING. Why Trump’s economic policies are doomed to fail.
President Trump’s protectionist policies have been widely criticised and rightly so. What is more surprising is the lack of analysis as to why America has a long-standing trade deficit, and the contradictory and self-defeating nature of President Trump’s overall economic … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
2 Comments
RAMESH THAKUR. Australia’s invisible Asians
There are three components to any spoken or written act of communication: the intended message (what was meant by the sender); the message as conveyed (what was actually said); and the message as received (how it is interpreted by the … Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Politics
2 Comments
SALIM MAZOUZ, FRANK JOTZO, HUGH SADDLER. Could the NEG bring down power prices? It’s hard to be confident that it will.
The final design document for the National Energy Guarantee (NEG), released this week, contains a range of claims about the policy’s ability to drive down both greenhouse emissions and electricity prices. But still there is precious little detail on how … Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Environment and climate
Leave a comment
LYNDSAY CONNORS. The schools funding saga wends on its way and everything changes while everything stays the same.
The recent by-elections suggest that when it comes to the politics of schools funding, everything stays the same while everything changes.
Posted in Economy, Education
Leave a comment
BERNARD SHIU. Canberra announces opt out of My Financial Record.
Today, the department of treasury announced a My Financial Record will be created for everyone – unless you tell them you don’t want one by 15/10/2018.
JOHN MENADUE. Brexit means Brexit – or does it? Repost from September 13 2016
After the surprise referendum vote 52-48 for the UK to leave the EU, the new Prime Minister, Teresa May, rejected any suggestion of a new referendum or parliamentary intervention to reverse the ‘advisory’ referendum result. She said “Brexit means Brexit”. … Continue reading
James Wimberley Coal crash in India
Tony Abbott told us that coal was good for humanity. More recently the federal resources and energy minister Josh Frydenberg told us that there was a strong ‘moral case’ to export coal to countries such as India. That has more … Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Environment and climate
1 Comment
Greg Bailey. The IPA, Gina Rinehart and Transparency.
The Institute of Public Affairs and Gina Rinehart seem to be inextricably connected. In the last two weeks it has been revealed she gave a donation to the IPA which amounted to half of their entire budget for two years. … Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Politics
2 Comments
ROY GREEN. World class container terminal for Newcastle and the investigation by the ACCC
Connectivity isn’t everything, but it’s almost everything. Faster, better and cheaper is transforming our daily lives. And connectivity isn’t just about broadband access. It’s also about fast and efficient freight transport. Even in a digital world where so much of … Continue reading
LAURIE PATTON. Sticks and stones – Attempted coup at auDA flounders on disinterest.
The proposition that there’s widespread member concern at the state of auDA – the company managing our Internet domain names – has been dealt a definitive blow. The vote at a Special General Meeting to decide the fate of three … Continue reading
GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND
A regular collection of links to writings and broadcasts covered in other media.
Posted in Defence/Security, Economy, Human Rights, SERIES: Freedom, opportunity and security
Comments Off on GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND
ANDREW LEIGH. Rising to the challenge of inequality. (Repost from 18/6/2018)
Thomas Piketty and his colleagues have used new data to track inequality and sharpen the choices we face.
Posted in Economy, Politics
4 Comments
JOHN MENADUE. The facts don’t show that Liberals are better economic managers. (Repost from 7/4/2018)
Malcolm Turnbull has made it clear that his mantra of ‘Jobs-and-Growth’ will be at the forefront of his campaign in the next election. This week he will be talking about the growth of a million jobs in 5 years, but … Continue reading
ROSS GARNAUT. The Future of Chinese Economic Growth.
At any level of development in any country, but especially from upper-middle incomes, growth momentum can be broken by adverse developments of several kinds.
Posted in Asia, Economy, International Affairs
Comments Off on ROSS GARNAUT. The Future of Chinese Economic Growth.
MICHAEL KEATING. The Future Budget Outlook – a comment on the Parliamentary Budget Office Report on Trends affecting the sustainability of Commonwealth taxes
Last week the independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) released a new report on Trends affecting the sustainability of Commonwealth taxes. The key conclusion is that taxation receipts are likely to trend down in future relative to GDP, ‘given current policy … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
2 Comments
JOHN QUIGGIN. Australia’s failed energy policy needs more than just a Band-Aid (the Guardian 13.07.18)
The ACCC report is a mishmash of cognitive dissonance and half-baked suggestions for fixing the unfixable.
Posted in Economy, Environment and climate
1 Comment
RAE WALKER. Is the Banking Royal Commission Australia’s Canary?
Falling levels of trust in Australian institutions is frequently raised in the media and other public discussions as a serious concern. Reports from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry is providing an astonishing … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
Comments Off on RAE WALKER. Is the Banking Royal Commission Australia’s Canary?
JOHN MENADUE. The litany of anti social and failed privatisations. ( Edited repost from 21 July 2017)
Coalition politicians, bankers, accountants and lawyers still persist with their fixation with privatisation despite the fact that it is failing in one area after another and the electorate shows very clearly that it does not want it.
Posted in Economy, Politics
3 Comments
TERRY BARNES. Pharmacy power is a paper tiger (AFR 4/7/2018)
If something looks, walks and acts like a duck, it’s a duck. In the case of pharmacy giant Chemist Warehouse, however, it’s anything but.
PAUL KRUGMAN. Big business reaps Trump’s whirlwind (New York Times)
The bill for decades of cynical politics is coming due.
Posted in Economy
Comments Off on PAUL KRUGMAN. Big business reaps Trump’s whirlwind (New York Times)
ROSS GITTINS. Clever tax strategies may be legal, but they aren’t productive (SMH 9/7/2018)
The developed world’s economists have been racking their brains for explanations of the rich countries’ protracted period of weak improvement in the productivity of labour. I’ve thought of one that hasn’t had much attention.
Posted in Economy, Politics
3 Comments
ROSS GITTINS. Cash and kind: How governments shift income from rich to poor. (SMH 7/7/2018)
Everyone knows the gap between high and low incomes has grown. But much of what we think we know about why it’s happened, and what the government has been doing about it, is probably wrong.
Posted in Economy, Politics
2 Comments
CHARLES LIVINGSTONE. The Melbourne casino, and irresponsible gambling
Allegations by whistleblowers about the way poker machines are operated at the casino in Melbourne have underlined how Victoria’s Casino Control Act allows pokies to operate in ways that encourage harmful gambling.
JOHN MENADUE. The dumbed- down tax ‘debate’ and the Canberra Press Gallery.
In the ‘debate’ over tax and the attacks on Bill Shorten, not one member of the Canberra Press Gallery could be bothered to explain to us that with dividend imputation the difference between a 25% and a 27% tax rate … Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Media, Politics
7 Comments
LYNDON MEGARRITY. The Politics of Northern Development in Australia
Northern Australia is popularly defined as consisting of all Australian land north of the Tropic of Capricorn. The north has long struggled to secure the investment and development which the south-east of Australia has taken for granted, because it is … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
3 Comments
JOHN AUSTEN. Bill Shorten and Western Sydney Rail.
Mr Shorten has the right intentions about Western Sydney Rail but he needs to read Pearls and Irritations more carefully!
Posted in Economy, Infrastructure
Comments Off on JOHN AUSTEN. Bill Shorten and Western Sydney Rail.
ROSS GITTINS. Memo Canberra: it’s not taxes, it’s wages, stupid. (SMH 2/7/2018)
With the season of peak political bulldust already upon us, and the media holding a microphone to all the self-serving and often stupid arguments the politicians are having with each other, here’s a tip: if you want sense about our … Continue reading
GREG HAMILTON. The Class War – Part 2: The Bludging Class.
We’re paralysed by a state of cultural anarchy that marks the decline of the Enlightenment Age and its class war that will see one percent of the world’s population owning over two thirds of all wealth by 2030. Do we … Continue reading
Posted in Economy
2 Comments